Chapter 76………………………………
Her expression seemed almost as if she were suppressing anger.
Or perhaps she was recalling a memory.
It was hard to be certain which it was.
“Of course I know.”
The head maid, who now seemed to have composed herself, spoke.
“These are all things I received.”
“What?”
“I told you, didn’t I? We were lovers. These are the things he gave me to ask me to go to the ball with him.”
“Then… perhaps…”
“That means he’s still in the estate. Even if you go during the day, it’ll be hard to meet him.”
The head maid let out a long sigh and perched on a nearby chair.
The creak of the chair sounded, oddly, like a scream.
“What kind of person was he?”
Finally, unable to contain his curiosity, Laseil asked.
It seemed almost certain that the dark magician was alive.
To figure out how to deal with him, they first needed information.
“He wasn’t a good person. He was trash.”
It was a rather cold assessment for a former lover.
But considering what he had done, it was understandable.
“Where should I start? From when you first met him?”
“That would be best.”
“It’s not very long, and probably not very interesting either.”
According to the head maid, they first met one winter.
At that time, the head maid was just an ordinary maid.
“Wait a moment.”
Laseil interrupted mid-story.
He realized he had overlooked an important detail.
“Head maid, what was your name?”
“You’re only asking now? My name is Jane.”
He felt suddenly embarrassed that he didn’t know her name even after knowing her for half a year.
Repeating the name in his mind a few times, Laseil asked again.
“So, how did you come to know the dark magician?”
“As I said, it was winter.”
Ordinary maid Jane was on her way home on her break.
Not to her hometown, but to her house in the estate.
“I wasn’t on good terms with my family. There was no reason to visit them.”
While walking, she suddenly tripped over something.
It was the dark magician, half-frozen and near death on the roadside.
“Oh, his name was Eryl. Surprisingly ordinary, right?”
“What?”
“Is it so surprising that his name is ordinary?”
“No, no. You’re saying he was half-frozen on the street?”
It was far from the image she had imagined.
“Yes. Until then, he still had a cute side.”
Jane let out a small sigh and resumed explaining.
“Of course, I was surprised, so I checked his condition first.”
Fortunately, he was breathing, so she took him home.
After washing him in warm water and letting him lie in bed, he regained consciousness a few hours later.
As soon as he opened his eyes and saw Jane, he said:
“…Are you a demon?”
Jane’s response was, naturally:
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry if I offended you! It’s just… you’re so beautiful.”
Then he continued in a timid voice:
“I thought a demon had come to seduce me…”
“Overly self-conscious.”
This absurd conversation was why Jane remembered that moment so vividly.
It was too ridiculous to ever forget.
“Do you have anywhere to go?”
Next came this question.
If someone was frozen on the street, it was obvious they had nowhere to go.
“No…”
Hearing that, Jane thought it was perfect timing.
She had been feeling lonely with no one at home anyway.
It would be nice to have someone to live with.
“Do you know how to do housework?”
“A little. I am a magician, after all!”
Eryl spoke with a quiet pride in his eyes.
“Even though I can hardly use any magic… one day I will become a great magician!”
“…Alright.”
Eryl’s magic was barely useful for housework.
It didn’t match the common image of a “magician.”
But for Jane, it was convenient.
“Just watch, I’ll make a name in history someday…”
“If you have time for that, at least finish drying the laundry!”
For several months, things were truly fine.
Perhaps the best time in her life so far.
She finally had someone to talk to without arguments.
There was someone to welcome her home, and she no longer needed to feel lonely.
Jane was content with this situation.
“Why do you look like that?”
Until problems arose while working at the lord’s estate.
Back then, Jane had been quite an easygoing maid.
The youngest among the maids, with no family to rely on in the estate.
She was often bullied because of it.
“Who did that?”
Jane saw Eryl’s angry face for the first time.
The face of someone feeling guilt as well.
“If only I were a stronger magician…”
“And then what? Take revenge for me? That’s something I have to do, isn’t it?”
Though said jokingly, Eryl didn’t take it lightly.
Every time he returned from the estate, he obsessively checked on Jane.
This was when he began spending many days locked in his room reading books.
“What did you do?”
About a month later, trouble broke out.
The maids who had tormented Jane fell ill or were seriously injured one after another.
“Why? I thought you’d like it.”
Eryl didn’t hide that it was his doing.
In fact, he looked puzzled that he hadn’t received praise.
At this point, Jane realized that Eryl’s sense of ethics was seriously twisted…
“…Don’t do that again.”
Still, she couldn’t cut ties entirely.
She had already grown too dependent on Eryl.
She didn’t want to return to a life without family.
“Alright. If you dislike it, I won’t do it.”
Eryl nodded with the same innocent expression.
Exactly the same face as when she first brought him home.
After that, nothing notable happened for a while.
Eryl would occasionally bring gifts after earning some money somewhere.
“This hair tie is cute. Once I earn more, I’ll buy you a proper hairpin.”
“This is cute enough.”
Jane once thought that peaceful time would last forever.
Time spent exchanging small gifts and conversation in the cozy home.
The number of hair ties gradually increased, and she even received a comb one day.
Then one day, when Jane was severely injured again, real trouble arrived.
This time it wasn’t because of colleagues, but because of the lord.
“Let’s run away.”
Eryl whispered while holding Jane’s hand that day.
“Wherever we go, I’ll take responsibility.”
His hand was covered in blood, and it carried a strong scent of curses.
It could only have been dark magic.
Even knowing this, Jane couldn’t pull her hand away immediately.
‘Maybe it’ll be okay?’
That thought came when she looked into Eryl’s eyes.
‘Perhaps… we could really live in hiding.’
If they ran away and adapted, it could work.
If they stopped causing trouble, a quiet life wasn’t impossible.
Just like that… as before…
…Could she live like that?
“Sorry.”
The moment that thought came, Jane realized:
She couldn’t do it.
Every moment would be tense.
There would be no moment of peace.
She couldn’t sleep easily at home, and even going out would be stressful.
Living with constant anxiety, never knowing when trouble might strike.
“I… I don’t think I can go with you.”
She couldn’t live that way.
Jane let go of Eryl’s hand and hung her head.
She felt guilty ending such a long bond like this.
She even thought she might be able to persuade him otherwise.
“…I see.”
Eryl surprisingly accepted her words without resistance.
He didn’t get angry, nor show disappointment.
He only offered a brief farewell.
“Take care.”
It would be a full five years before Jane saw Eryl again.
By then, Jane had fully established herself as the head maid.
“Jane!”
At first, she couldn’t recognize him properly.
He had changed too much since they last met.
Especially due to the noble-style clothing and neatly groomed hair.
